Dr G.J. Somsen
Research profile
Somsen’s research focuses on international dimensions of science over the past two centuries.
He has widely published on universalism – the belief that science transcends national and cultural divisions – which he studies (paradoxically) in very specific contexts. For an example publication, see “Science, Fascism, and Foreign Policy: The Exhibition Scienza Universale at the 1942 Rome World’s Fair”, Isis 108 (2017) 769-791.
He has also worked the history of conferences, analyzing how scientists enact international relations there. To this end he started and co-directed the joint research project The Scientific Conference: A Social, Cultural, and Political History (2019-2024, EU HERA Humanities grant). See e.g. The Art of Gathering: Histories of International Scientific Conferences, special issue of the British Journal for the History of Science 56 (2023), 423-577, edited with Charlotte Bigg, Jessica Reinisch, and Sven Widmalm.
His current work investigates the legacy of European imperialism in international science. See the forthcoming “The Empire Strikes Back: Unearthing the Imperial Roots of H.G. Wells’s Internationalism”, in: Friederike Kuntz and Oliver Kessler (eds.), Projects and Politics of the International in the Long 19th century: Making the World International (text available upon request).
See here for an interview on one of these topics.
* For direct links to Geert Somsen's publications, see the Maastricht University repository or his ORCID account. *
Key publications
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Somsen, G. (2017). Science, Fascism, and Foreign Policy: The Exhibition “Scienza Universale” at the 1942 Rome World’s Fair. ISIS. An International Review Devoted to the History of Science and its Cultural Influences, 108(4), 769-791. https://doi.org/10.1086/695758More information about this publication
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Bigg, C., Reinisch, J., Somsen, G., & Widmalm, S. (2023). The art of gathering: histories of international scientific conferences. British Journal for the History of Science, 56(4), 423-433. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0007087423000638More information about this publication
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Somsen, G., & Dupre, S. (Eds.) (2024). Forum: Decentering the History of Knowledge. Journal for the History of Knowledge, 5, 177-267.More information about this publication
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Somsen, G. (2021). The princess at the conference: Science, pacifism, and Habsburg society. History of Science, 59(4), 434-460. Article 0073275320977750. https://doi.org/10.1177/0073275320977750More information about this publication
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Somsen, G. (2020). The Philosopher and the Rooster: Henri Bergson's French Diplomatic Missions, 1914-1925. Historical Studies in the Natural Sciences, 50(4), 364-383. https://doi.org/10.1525/hsns.2020.50.4.364More information about this publication
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Somsen, G. (2023). 'The goddess that we serve': projecting international community at the first serial chemistry conferences, 1893-1914. British Journal for the History of Science, 56(4), 453-467. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0007087423000341More information about this publication
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Somsen, G. (2022). Afterword: Science popularization, dictatorships, and democracies. History of Science, 60(3), 430-435. Article 00732753211073422. https://doi.org/10.1177/00732753211073422More information about this publication
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Dupre, S., & Somsen, G. (2019). The History of Knowledge and the Future of Knowledge Societies. Berichte zur Wissenschaftsgeschichte, 42(2-3), 186-199. https://doi.org/10.1002/bewi.201900006More information about this publication
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Bigg, C., Reinisch, J., Somsen, G., & Widmalm, S. (2022). No Amount of Technology Can Replicate In-Person Conferences. Times Higher Education, 24-25. https://www.timeshighereducation.com/opinion/no-amount-technology-can-replicate-person-conferencesMore information about this publication
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Somsen, G., & van Lunteren, F. (2024). Trans-, Inter-, and Monodisciplinarity: Some Historical Considerations. In B. Regeer, P. Klaassen, & J. Broerse (Eds.), Transdisciplinarity for Transformation: Insights and Tools for Navigating Complex Societal Challenges (pp. 59-76). Springer Nature. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-60974-9_2More information about this publication